Young Writers Society

It was a beautiful autumn day, and it seemed to mock Eli with every step.

The trees lining the campus were the color of flames, crisp and vibrant, and the clouds were huge and puffy white in a brilliant cerulean sky. The air was fresh on his tired skin, and he relished in it. But Atlas' shadow still trailed him, despite it all.

The Edgewood campus perched on the edge of Bluford, walking the fine line where urban life, suburbia, and classic farmland of Ohio clashed and mingled. A few students wandered along the main road or sat on picnic blankets on the sprawling lawns before the brick academic buildings, but the majority of Edgewood was in class or studying. There was a park only a few blocks away, tucked behind a quaint, middle-class neighborhood that reminded Eli of home-- sometimes a little too much.

The park was an oasis, a circle of calm amidst it all. Eli's favorite tree, a huge, sprawling maple with dark purple leaves, was found towards the center, in a cluster of pine and benches donated from the locals. The tree had been there for him since his first week at Edgewood, when he had sought out solitude in whatever nature he could find.

The memories filtered in over the present pain. He'd used to come here to read books up in the branches, or avoid uncomfortable social interactions, or to flip through pictures of his family on his phone, homesickness tearing him apart from the inside. He'd never realized that moving only three hours away from home could be so hard.

His older sister by five years, Danielle, had left for South Korea to study International Communications last year, but she'd done her best to prepare him for all the classic struggles that he would encounter at college. And as a present sophomore, he felt as though he had the hang of it by now. The college bit, at least.

He doubted that she could give him advice on how to cope with being a superpowered person, a villain, or watching your friend burn up before your eyes, though.

(He also doubted that his tree could help him with that either, but hey, everyone has their ways of coping.)

He swung himself into the lowest bough of the maple, ignoring the jabs in his shoulder and chest. He shifted to get comfortable, rolling his shoulders in a vain attempt to release the knots in his back. The view from up here showed him the collision of communities- the high rise buildings to the left, suburbia before him, and beyond that, the soybean fields, stretching for mile after flat mile.

He'd been up there for barely a minute when his phone buzzed. He brushed a hand over his chest, as though he could erase the damage with a gesture, before answering.

"Hello?"

"Hey, honey."

His lips twisted up into a sad smile. Of course. She must have heard about last night, already. He felt a new stab of guilt at not telling her that he was safe immediately.

"Hey, Mom."

A pause. She spoke hesitantly, which was unusual to hear from the stubborn, confident woman Eli was used to. "I heard about what happened. With your friend. It was on the news this morning."

"Yeah."

Another pause, a shuffle. "Are you doing okay?"

He shook his head, fully aware of the exhaustion that seeped into his very bones, but his mouth said, "Yeah."

"I don't believe you, Eli."

Eli swallowed with difficulty, his resolve crumbling. A weary smile tugged at his lips. She knew him too well.

"No," he admitted, voice cracking. "I feel awful."

"Tell me."

Eli grabbed a large purple leaf off of the branch and twisted the stem between his fingers. He leaned his head back into the rough bark and took a deep breath.

He told her everything. Well, almost. There was no way he could tell her that her only son had turned to crime to pay off his student loans.

But the few secrets he kept from her stuck in his throat like thorns.

"It's not your fault, Eli. What happened was awful, but it's not your fault."

Eli closed his eyes, tried to believe her. "I know."

Her voice was firm. "I don't want you slipping, again. Be honest. Do you think you'll be alright for now? Do you need to come home?"

Eli gazed out at the houses below with tired eyes, at the double garages, wooden fences, perfect paint jobs, and well-kept yards so similar to his parents' house only three hours away. 

He could just... leave. Quit his job. Sleep forever. Forget all about the Program, Rift, Zenith, Pyro, everything to do with villain work. Move on.

Don't let it happen again.

He couldn't abandon Atlas like that. Not when he still didn't know what had really happened.

"I'm alright," he finally said, and was surprised to find that it wasn't a complete lie. Talking with his mom always had that effect on him. "I think I'll see how things go in the next week or so, when things calm down a bit and I get some updates. I'll try an Edgewood counselor, if I start feeling really bad."

"If you're sure." She sighed, and he knew that she was running a hand through her wavy brown hair, a tic that he had picked up from her. "I love you so much, sweetie."

"Love you too, Mom."

"Stay safe. Call me if you need anything."

"I will."

He hung up. He tilted his head back, shifting to avoid the bruises in his back. His burns itched, and he was exhausted, but the sun was soft, filtering through the leaves, and he felt more calm than he had all day. It's not your fault, he repeated to himself, grasping at the words. He almost believed them.

"Eli!"

He startled, jerking up and away from the tree, the peace broken. A flock of songbirds squawked and lifted away from the tree in a writhing cloud as he spotted Sebastián striding towards him. Fallen leaves crunched under his roommates converse.

"Oh. Hey man," Eli said, trying to ignore the twisting sensation in his gut at the unreadable expression on Seb's face. He hadn't even considered how Sebastián had been doing. Seb was probably freaking out just as much as Eli, but Eli knew that he was much better at hiding it than most people.

Sebastián swiped a strand of thick black hair away from his eyes. He walked confidently, but his lips were pressed tightly together, like he was afraid of what would spill out if he opened them. He paused at the base of the tree, crossed his arms over his chest. He was wearing torn jeans and a band tee that hung from his thin form.

"I knew I'd find you here. Classic Moping Tree."

Eli swung his leg over the bough and jumped down, wincing at the soreness radiating from his chest. He wondered whether he was supposed to change the bandages at some point.

"I don't mope."

Seb raised an eyebrow. "Right. And I'm as short as you."

"Ha, ha." Eli tried not to sound irritated, drawing himself to his full height, a good head shorter than his roommate. The short jokes, he was used to, but something about Seb's sudden appearance put him on edge. "What do you want?"

Sebastián glanced to the side, avoiding Eli's gaze. He bounced his leg nervously.

"We need to talk, man. About you. About what happened."

Eli let out a hard exhale, ran a hand through his hair. "Look. I don't know what happened. The police said that they'd contact me if they needed anything, that the hospital would tell me if anything new happened--"

"Not that."

Sebastián fidgeted with his bracelet, a frayed, twisted mess of blue string that Eli believed to have been a gift from one of Seb's little sisters. Eli watched his jaw clench as he struggled to find the right words.

"I mean... with Atlas being Pyro," he said, finally. "A supervillain, Eli. And with you being..." He glanced up, dark eyes full of suspicion. "Whoever you are."

He tilted his head and spread his hands. His expression was hard.

"Enough lying. Who are you, really?"

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